Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-09-11


TAsEs nppears 10 be % ahatsnszi IN
lAs mistress laksn b. the faEmsrs and
hep growers in tie whiis River vallsy
ever ~ partial renewal Of he oostrue-
tinn n Whlls river which Turned inao
slnsk Fissr The greater volsDs Of usa<E,
end uhieh, - ne same time. has fos
many ysars bean a defsnss for TIE
Whiss river fnrmara A Posr-EETEzxz-
azMux1 representative wona % TIE scene
e ehn Feaena explosiona and invsseiRAt-
"a the ehnnnel1 Of not only the rivers
% fhms poinf. bak also a vaFionB oenef
notnts where thu channels many yaAxs
eco we're located. In order that the
general features IN that noolion Of the
Oounty may be unidentified. and als0
how Il cams about thai sneh extracsdi-
rarv changes in The channels Of both
Whits and Stuck rivers oeenEred, Il
shoald Be remembered that a. ons time
he Pugailnp. Stnnk and White EiveE val
Ieys Jointly formed IN arm Of The Scnnd.
5his arm Uaa gradually flied up b. the
he mountains By the several Streams
f183z0H - tu9 0o410. 4Do Ao1AA4NAoA
clearly shows that a one tine those
thrss valleys we're swampa. which. By .
saccsssion Of oveFdOws. gradually
reached an elevation which 10 noe lia-
be 70 OvsE1ows oniy when extraordI-
nary frssheas occur. The lass was 10
1861, when asaFly, II not quite eli Of
tha three valleys we're covered By watar.
Ths allnvial deposits are Of such char
aetar that any stubborn resistance TO
the enFEent resulted IN tue cutting Of Q
nav channel by the rivers. Tne result
i that the present channels Of the rivers
in many places are quite . distances
away from those existing comparatively
& fe1 years ago. AZ 70 one thing I'll
evidences agree. namely, the ooarss Of
Stuck river d entirely from White rivsI
and ID ID nothing more or less than a.
arm Of Wbibs rtyer, having no tndepen
denk water szpply.
TIE KAnLugT REoonD.
The present. point where Stuck rivsl
leaves White river IL about thFss
quarters of . mile further mp aht
stream than Il vas whsn the earliest
record was made, In June 1855, By
Thomas A. Frost, Deputy United States
Surveyor. Tbs river nov beGine ~
most exactly IN toe csnter Of section %
township n north. range 5 eaets il
| 1856 there YES an island extending en-,
firoly eerogs sectisn q, and also abo1l
hnlf 3 mile IN sections 81 and -
Stnck river, In 1855. began some dis
tance West Of the dividing line bstgesE
sessions - and -. A tnAt time. and
for many years afterwards. as testified
70 by John 3. Kincaid, Who has livet
on Stuck river since 1858, there vas lee
water flowing IN Staok than In Whit
river. In 1851 an extraordinary frsshs
occurred oveFdoWinR the entire valley
It vas then that the foundation Of tn
present obstruction wa laid. Sine
shat time thu volume Of water In Stucl
river has gradually increased until 10 i
| almost equal 20 that Of White river, Of
waa previous 30 the partial renewal o.
the obsarnction last week. All evidences
aeEee that trees lodged In white rive
channel east Of she Iona island abov
referred 10, almost exactly in the cente
Of section q. This ohstFuction forces
the river 10 cut 9 nev channel directl.
acrcss the tsland. 10 then again be
came obstruesed, the remains Of To-
ian Of tress being plainly apparent
This second lam forced the water at al.
most right anales 10 the course taksr
across the island, and channel vas On
diaQonally across the Island aRaiu anti
IL reached the original channel at
point some distance below the frst 90
stFuction. During either the hoOd o
1857 or In the following year, the seoonl
obstruction was broken, and throuel
| this opening Stuck river now hnds III
/ way. II 1868 the course OF Whit
river around the original obstFucti0i
/ formed nearly q RiRht-anRle triangle
thu channel across the ISLAM being ths
perpendicular aud the course back "a
the old channel the hypothenuae.
Daring Subsequent ffesheta the main
channel Of White river changed twice
ths arst shortening the distances 70 ID.
old channel, and the second reetoEiae
the stream as u vas previous 20 ~
great food Of 1867, although the Voluml
Of water Was greatly diminished. ThesI
successive changes we're effected bI
Jams, which formed extensions of ID
original one. and, previous 20 the Fecen
| explosions, the Jam Waa q continuous
mass Of iateElooked, fallen trees alraoa
from the eastern shore Of the river d
the point where Il turned around thi
obssFuetion Ia 1851. UndeE this mas
Of trees the water struggled, diminished
both In volume and strenath Of current
Tue river had cot about afteea fee
from the hluA a. The eastern shore
thus feRaininQ, In q measure. the orig
mel channel. II 10 as this point tha
EFFORTS have iusl been made 10 widen
the channel.
THE OBSTRUCTION, on sAM.
some idea of che character Of "ism'
may be formed when Il 10 knOWn thai
the one In question vas foFmed b. q
volume Of water prohthly more, Ger
tainly not less than 30 feel deep and ol
indeenits width, hoWinR IN Q ehannsl
which fell On an average Is fest 20 tbs
mile. A. this great volume az WatsI
cat away tls former shore, immense
trees we're undermined and carried
down the stream until they collected
where they nov lie. Il II related thai
the force Of the earent vas % steana
that great trees striking an obstruction
were lifted bodily endwiss and hurled,
with roar like thunder, fogWana into
the food, only 90 AGAIN strike against
A. ~